Side-by-side distribution
General Counsel
$263,750
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 60.8%
- Live roles
- 186
Research Scientist
$219,688
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 52.9%
- Live roles
- 384
Highest-paying jobs
Chief Legal Officer (CLO) ($1M-$5M salary)
General Counsel
Chief Legal Officer
Chief Legal Officer
General Counsel
Chief Legal Officer (Pacific Northwest or Hybrid) (964-SLS)
Deputy General Counsel
Assistant General Counsel, M&A
Associate General Counsel, Product & Commercial
Deputy General Counsel
Highest-paying jobs
Research Scientist, Interpretability
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Pre-training
Research Engineer / Research Scientist -Personal AGI, Proactivity
Research Engineer/Research Scientist - Personal AGI, North Stars
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Personal AGI-Model Experience
Research Engineer / Research Scientist- Personal AGI (Post Training)
Research Engineer / Research Scientist - Personal AGI, Personality and Model Behavior
Staff / Principal Research Scientist - USA
Research Engineer / Research Scientist, Tokens
Research Engineer / Scientist, Alignment
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
FutureSight
|
$5,988 | 10 |
| TT The Trade Desk | $214,050 | 4 |
Hadrian Automation
|
$312,500 | 3 |
| SA Scale AI | $297,900 | 3 |
Fireblocks
|
$257,000 | 3 |
Robinhood
|
$236,000 | 3 |
|
STR
|
$355,000 | 2 |
| AX Axon | $311,345 | 2 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anthropic
|
$402,500 | 11 |
Anduril Industries
|
$221,000 | 8 |
Astera Institute
|
$225,000 | 7 |
|
OpenAI
|
$425,000 | 6 |
Waabi
|
$212,750 | 6 |
| SA Scale AI | $243,000 | 5 |
Nuro
|
$229,900 | 5 |
World Labs
|
$300,000 | 4 |
General Counsel salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $253,500 | 23 |
| New York | $250,000 | 35 |
| Los Angeles | $233,650 | 9 |
| Boston | $231,345 | 4 |
| Chicago | $214,045 | 6 |
| Austin | $180,000 | 3 |
Research Scientist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $291,650 | 11 |
| Boston | $275,000 | 8 |
| San Francisco | $265,000 | 66 |
| New York | $243,000 | 38 |
| Toronto | $212,000 | 8 |
| London | $203,341 | 10 |
| Los Angeles | $80,000 | 3 |
General Counsel vs Research Scientist: which pays more?
The median for General Counsel is $263,750 per year (typically $213,030–$297,900), versus $219,688 for Research Scientist ($177,088–$275,000). That puts General Counsel about 20% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so General Counsel and Research Scientist are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.